Growing up, I was bombarded in school by books showing off photos of tiny bug-eyed primates clinging to branches with their tiny little hands, and hills that supposedly imitate Hershey’s Kisses in the summer. It piqued my interest enough to harbor a secret desire to see these things myself, and it didn’t help that I was constantly being reminded by Instagram that people were enjoying these attractions and I wasn’t. Having to constantly live on a budget restricts me from covering as much ground as possible, travel-wise, so when another Cebu Pacific Seat Sale came around, I immediately hit “Search” on Manila-Tagbilaran flights and booked a four-day trip.

After taking a solo tour of Pangasinan, I was ready to do it again when I read up on Aurora province, where surfing is all the rage. But I learned that a friend was available to accompany me on this trip, so I decided to save the ‘going solo’ idea for another destination. Instead of paying for a tour, we agreed to go rogue; we’d go to Aurora and just get a local to give us a tour. (Warning: this is going to be a long post, so grab a snack and get comfortable before you proceed.)